Vitae

Education:

Vanderbilt University (2017-2024)

Ph.D. Student - Biomedical Engineering

University of Iowa (2013-2017)

Bachelor of Science in Engineering - Biomedical Engineering

Cellular Engineering Focus, University Honors, Chemistry Minor

Thammasat University: Bangkok, Thailand (2015)

International Student Exchange Program

Major Research Experience:

Scientist I - Molecular (2024-present)

Gene Therapy Center for Excellence (GTCOE), Sarepta Therapeutics

R&D Consultant - AI and Data Science (2024)

Finally Skincare - Scientific and data-driven skincare

Graduate Research Assistant (2017-2024)

Biomedical Engineering Department, Vanderbilt University

Advisor: Cynthia A. Reinhart-King, Ph.D.

Research Consultant (2020)

OmniLife - Integrated communication and clinical workflow management

Co-founder - Iowa Internationally Genetically Engineered Machines (IGEM) Team (2016-2017)

University of Iowa

Advisors: Jan Fassler Ph.D., Edward Sander Ph.D., Craig Ellermier Ph.D.

Undergraduate Research Assistant (2013-2017)

Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, University of Iowa

Advisor: E. Dale Abel M.D., Ph.D.

Teaching and Leadership Experience

Grand Judge - Biomedical Engineering (2025)

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)

Resident Director (2023-2024)

Our Place Nashville

SyBBURE Searle Graduate Fellow (2020-present)

SyBBURE Searl Undergraduate REsearch Program, Vanderbilt University

Graduate Teaching Assistant (2018)

Biomedical Engineering Department, Vanderbilt University

BME 2200: Biomedical Materials

Teaching Assistant (2017)

Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Iowa

BME 5421 - Cell Material Interactions

Engineering Tutor (2016-2017)

Engineering Tutorial Center, University of Iowa

Courses: Engineering Problem Sovling I & II, Chemistry, Physics, Statics, Circuits

Scholar - Iowa Biosciences Academy (2016-2017)

Iowa Biosciences Academy, University of Iowa

Technical Skills

Industry & Regulatory: GCP, GLP, drafting SOPs/methods, Veeva, Box, Sharepoint, Lab Vantage, Lab Monitor, FDA Bioanalytical Method Validation guidance
Molecular Biology: PCR (standard, RT-PCR, qPCR, ddPCR), restriction digest, ligation, transformation, transfection, lentiviral production and transduction, nucleic acid and protein isolation, Western blot, ELISA
Bioinformatics: Bulk and single cell RNA sequencing (NGS & Indrops/10X)
Cell Biology: mammalian cell culture, tumor endothelial cell isolation, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, polyacrylamide gel synthesis, in vitro cell behavior assays, microscopy, mouse models
Programming Language/Software: PowerBI, Unix/Linux, Git, R, Python, Matlab, ImageJ, GraphPad Prism, Bioconductor
Transferable Skills: Project management & organization, resource management, commercial acumen, analysis & problem solving, self-management, research & information management, written & oral communication

Publications:

16. Taufalele PV, Kirkham HK, Reinhart-King CA. Matrix Stiffness-Mediated DNA Methylation in Endothelial Cells. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. 2025. Link

15. Schunk CT, Wang W, Sabo LN, Taufalele PV, Reinhart-King CA. Matrix stiffness increases energy efficiency of endothelial cells. Matrix Biology. 2024. Link

14. Zhang J, Mosier JA, Wu Y, Taufalele PV, et al. Cellular Energy Cycle Mediates an Advection-Like Forward Cell Flow to Support Collective Invasion. Advanced Science. 2024. Link

13. Wang W, Taufalele PV, et al. Matrix stiffness regulates tumor cell intravasation through expression and ESRP1-mediated alternative splicing of MENA. Cell reports. 202. Link

12. Rowe MM, Wang W, Taufalele PV, Reinhart-King CA. AGE-Breaker ALT711 reverses glycation-mediated cancer cell migration. Soft Matter. 2022. Link

11. Wang W, Hapach LA, Griggs L, Smark KE, Wu Y, Taufalele PV, et al. Diabetic hyperglycemia promotes primary tumor progression through glycation induced tumor extracellular matrix stiffening. Science Advances. 2022. Link

10. Schwager SC, Mosier JA, Padmanabhan RS, White A, Xing Q, Hapach LA, Taufalele PV, et al. Link between glucose metabolism and EMT drives triple negative breast cancer migratory heterogeneity. iScience. 2022. Link

9. Taufalele PV, Wang W, Simmons AJ, Southard-Smith AN, Chen B, Greenlee JD, et al. Matrix stiffness enhances cancer-macrophage interactions and M2-like macrophage accumulation in the breast tumor microenvironment. Acta Biomaterialia. 2022. Link

8. Taufalele PV, Reinhart-King CA. Matrix stiffness primes cells for future oxidative stress. Trends in Cancer. 2021. Link

7. Hapach LA, Carey SP, Schwager SC, Taufalele PV, et al. Phenotypic heterogeneity and metastasis of breast cancer cells. Cancer Research. 2021. Link

6. Zhang Y, Taufalele PV, Cochran JD, et al. Mitochondrial pyruvate carriers are required for myocardial stress adaptation. Nature Metabolism. 2020. Link

5. Zanotelli MR, Rahman-Zaman A, VanderBurgh JA, Taufalele PV, Jain A, Erickson D, et al. Energetic costs regulated by cell mechanics and confinement are predictive of migration path during decision-making. Nature Communications. 2019. Link

4. Taufalele PV, VanderBurgh JA, Munoz A, Zanotelli MR, Reinhart-King CA. Fiber alignment drives changes in architectural and mechanical features in collagen matrices. Plos One. 2019. Link

3. Zhang J, Goliwas KF, Wang W, Taufalele PV, Bordeleau F, and Reinhart-King CA. Energetic regulation of coordinated leader–follower dynamics during collective invasion of breast cancer cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2019. Link

2. Schwager SC*, Taufalele PV*, Reinhart-King CA. Cell-cell mechanical communication in cancer. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. 2018. * co-first author Link

1. VanderBurgh JA, Hotchkiss H, Potharazu A, Taufalele PV, Reinhart-King CA. Substrate stiffness heterogeneities disrupt endothelial barrier integrity in a micropillar model of heterogeneous vascular stiffening. Integrative Biology. 2018. Link

Selected Honors

2020 - NIH F31 Fellowship Recipient

2020 - Honorable Mention - Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

2019 - BMES Student Design and Research Award

2019 - Honorable Mention - Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

2018 - NIH R01 Diversity Supplement

2017 - Most Technically Interesting by Equifax - ArchHacks

2016 - Best Smart Application for a Smart Device - HackISU